Pencil and watercolour on card; signed; original pearwood and brass slip frame; entire 7 by 6ins; 17 x 15cm
Provenance: Private collection, England
Jean Jacques Turretin (1779-1858) was born in May 1779 in Altona; the son of Jacques Turretin, a priest and Anna Marie Elisabeth Baumann, by 1828 he seems to have settled in Schleswig with his wife Petra Caroline de Hemmer whom he married in October 1814. Predominantly know as a miniaturist he did on occasion produce larger scale works; displaying much precision his style shows both an expressiveness and clarity of approach that together with a freshness of colour give his portraits a beguiling immediacy. The main body of his work seems to exist from about 1805 onwards reaching a high point during the mid 1820s.
Though not inscribed, this portrait, having come from the same source as stock #0577 is almost certainly a member of the Roepstorff family portrayed at about the same time of 1825. It has always been assumed that it is the father and therefore it could be Christian Henrik Adolph de Roepstorff (1769-1844) who married in 1797 Anne Sophie Grodtschilling. Because of this connection this portrait can be offered as a pair with stock #0577; please enquire regarding the joint price. The Danish noble family of Roepstorff possibly took its name from the village of Roepstorf by Kiel in Germany and descends from a long line founded in the early 17th century. Peter de Roepstorff was ennobled in Denmark on 16 April 1701.
Reference: 4th version of Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon, 1994
